I have seen many iPhone 3G users complaining about the sluggish iOS 4 experience on their phones. Apple team has tried their best to bring iOS 4 on iPhone 3G, but the phone is very limited in terms of the requirements of the new iPhone OS.
There are few things that one can do to speed up the iOS 4 on iPhone 3G. Of course, there is no guarantee that your iPhone 3G will work faster after using these tricks, but it will certainly make your phone more usable with iOS 4.
How to improve iOS 4 performance on iPhone 3G?
1. iPhone 3G Cold Death
In layman’s language, iPhone 3G cold death is nothing but a different way of booting your phone.
To put your iPhone 3G in cold death, press and hold the “Sleep” and “Home” button simultaneously for about 10 seconds. It will take some time to reboot your iPhone, so don’t worry about it.
This method really improves the performance of iPhone 3G running on iOS 4.
2. Remove Unwanted Apps
If you are using 100-200 apps on the phone, it will definitely decrease the iOS 4 speed on your iPhone 3G. So, it is recommended that you should remove the unwanted app from the phone.
3. Remove Shadows from Icons
I’m not sure about this method, but apparently it has worked for those who have tried it on their iPhone 3G. Just remove or rename the shadow file.
/System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/WallpaperIconShadow.png
I have not tried this trick on my own. So, if you are willing to try it, try it at your own risk.
4. Delete Language Packs
Apple provides multi-language support on iPhone, but most of us only use English language on the iPhone. You can delete useless language packs from your phone to free some memory. Watch the tutorial here.
These are the few tricks that will help you boost the performance of iOS 4 on iPhone 3G. As I said earlier, it will not work for everyone. If you do it correctly, it will give you good results.
Have you tried any of these methods? Share your experience with us.
It would simply be best to stick to iOS 3.1.3 for best performance. iOS 4 doesn't offer all that much for iPhone 3G/ iPod Touch 2G users.
Agree. iOS 4 is not a recommended update for old devices, but there are some features in this new OS that can make a big difference in productivity.
I need help: I have a iphone 3G running the original 3.0 software. An app I need requires 30.2 as a minimum. I don't want to upgrae to ios 4 …. I just want to do 3.0.2 or 3.0.3. How do I do that?
What a pile of Crock!
iPhone 3G + iOS 4 = a braindead, slow, crashing, f***ing iphone!
Trying to use this iPhone now is an absolute …mississippi one …mississippi two, mississippi three …mississippi four …mississippi five …mississippi six …mississippi seven …mississippi eight …mississippi nine …mississippi ten …eleven …twelve, thirteen …fourteen …fifteen …sixteen …seventeen …eighteen …nineteen …twenty …twenty one …twenty two …twenty three …twenty four …twenty five …twenty six …twenty seven …twenty eight …twenty nine … … … …oh no, I've just crashed!
F***ing ridiculous!
They didn't test the iPhone 4 …and it's fucking obvious they didn't test the iPhone 3G!
What a pile of crock!
…waiting for iOS 4.1 to relieve this nightmare.
What a pile of Crock!
iPhone 3G + iOS 4 = a very annoying non-smart phone!
Oh, wait, you want to load a new web page – just count to thirty …and then crash!
…do it again, and again, until you are really, seriously, PISSED OFF!
Crash,
Reload,
Count to thirty,
Crash.
What a pile of Crock!
Rubbish!!!
You plug your iPhone 3G in and it says “Upgrade to iOS 4″.
If Apple is not going to test this then this is the shit storm they should expect.
Hopefully 4.1 should redress the absolute FAIL of iOS 4 !?!
[...] listening to iPhone 3G performance issues on the recently launched iOS 4 software, but there is no appropriate fix available for the end users. iPhone 3G was included in the list of iOS 4 compatible phones, and it [...]
[...] You can check these methods to fix the issue on your iPhone 3G. Try at your own [...]
I’ve updated my Iphone 3G (last revision) with iOS 4.2.1. Agreed, the OS is much slower then iOS 3.0.x. However, it also solved some important issues for me. One of the things is remembering login settings in Safari. I have the possibility to log-in into so called WiFi Hotspots. With iOS 4.1.0 for some reason Safari did not remember the username and password for the hotspot. Even after deleting cache etc. it wouldn’t save my login, no matter how often I choose “save settings for this website”. With 4.2.1. however, this is solved. Okay, I get a slightly slower iPhone but all I do is call and sometimes write SMS-messages. Since the audio-quality of it’s iPod function is craptastic, I have a seperate MP3 player for sound and a digital camera for photo’s. Maybe it’s just time to get a newer iPhone
I’ve improved my battery and saved time using “Speedy Web in the pocket”. It’s very cool to quickly read web pages I often check. I spend less time on the net, and I get my info faster. And my battery thanks me